The assistant secretary of state for arms control, deterrence, and stability is the head of the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. The position was created on December 12, 1999, by Secretary Madeleine Albright as the assistant secretary of state for verification and compliance. The Bureau became fully operational on February 1, 2000, and was first known as the Verification and Compliance Bureau. Within the department, the assistant secretary is responsible for all matters relating to the supervision of verification and compliance with international arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements. The bureau was given its current name during the Obama administration.
President Joe Biden nominated lawyer and arms control expert Mallory Stewart for the position on June 2, 2021; she was confirmed by the Senate on March 29, 2022, and was sworn in on April 18, 2022.
The assistant secretary manages and advises the secretary of state and the under secretary of state for arms control and international security on the appropriate uses of the Key Verification Assets Fund, which supports the Department of State's preservation of critical verification assets and promotes the development of new technologies to enhance verification of existing and future arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament treaties or agreements.
The assistant secretary is also responsible for the President's Annual Report to Congress on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control Agreements, for verifiability assessments for all international arms control and nonproliferation agreements, and for specialized compliance reports required by U.S. Senate Resolutions of ratification, such as the condition 10(c) report on the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Assistant secretaries of state for arms control, verification and compliance #NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident(s) served under1Paula A. DeSutterAugust 14, 2002January 16, 2009George W. Bush2Rose GottemoellerApril 6, 2009March 7, 2014Barack Obama3Frank A. RoseDecember 18, 2014January 20, 2017Barack Obama4Yleem D.S. PobleteApril 30, 2018June 7, 2019Donald Trump -Thomas G. DiNanno (Acting)June 8, 2019January 20, 2021Donald Trump -Paul Dean (Acting)March 13, 2022April 18, 2022 Joe Biden5Mallory StewartApril 18, 2022January 20, 2025 -Paul Dean (Acting)January 20, 2025May 5, 2025 Donald Trump -Paul Watzlavick (Senior Bureau Official)May 5, 2025July 11, 2025
References
External links The Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance at the Department of State website The Bureau of Verification and Compliance archives Press Release: The Department of State's Reorganization of the Arms Control and International Security Bureaus